After the Fact
by TheNameIsErronBlack
Summary: Three brief epilogues to the book Let it Snow by Maureen Johnson, John Green, and Lauren Myracle
1. Jubilee and Stuart

Hectic.

It was hardly an extravagant or grandiloquent piece of nomenclature to attribute to the past forty-eight or so hours, but it was apt, and Jubilee's ability to process anything even tangentially related to her scholastic enterprises had been long since left to the wayside. She felt the respite was earned, especially considering the prior day's events.

The journey had been an arduous but worthy, and, ultimately, necessary one. At last, she was a woman unbound by the strictures of her eighteen clown car pile-up on the interstate relationship with Noah. It wasn't often that one found themselves traversing the harshness of winter, plummeting into the ravine of frigid despair, and spending the night under a roof of the kindness of strangers, and it was even less often that a boyfriend of supposed boundless empathy gave less than an iota of a germ of an atom of a damn about her predicament. Reminiscing on the night's events, part of her would've liked to rub the fact that she was spending the night with an adorable Gracetown named Stewart in his smug face. Admittedly, he didn't spend every waking moment beefing up his college resume or sucking up to professors, but he made up for it by actually taking an investment in her well being. Him being rather good looking and incredibly endearing with a well-built frame to boot was also worth of note. The thought was enticing, but she didn't think of herself as a vindictive person and she was too busy enjoying the holidays with Stuart to care too much about Noah. Now was not the time to focus on vengeance. He would probably find out eventually, in any vase.

"As I've always said, Starbucks is far more profound than most rabid anti-corporatists give it credit for." Jubilee turned to look at Stewart's brilliant smile. She found herself returning to it far more than she originally anticipated, and not just to kiss it. The way his mouth would ever-so-slightly curl to the side when he was happy was just too precious.

"Come to Starbucks for a delicious iced mocha and a band-aid for a broken heart. Capitalism, ho." She fired back, partially into his jacket.

Indeed it was. Not only was it now the spot of Stuart's redemption rather than a permanent reminder of Chloe's rampage, but it was where she met some other wonderful Gracetown residents. Her former compartment-companion's tale of redemption with Addie was a Christmas miracle the truest sense of the word, second to her own, of course, and Tobin and Angie (or Duke. There was something about a convenience store and dukes and duchesses) were cuter than a gaggle of puppies frolicking around a meadow punctuated by a rainbow in the background. Even though she was ready to hurl herself into bed from spending the entire day wandering through the wild streets of Gracetown suction-cupped to Stuart's chest, her spirit had been rejuvenated in an unprecedented manner.

"Every year since I was six, I would get Starbucks gifts cards for the teachers I liked at the end of the year. It was basically my way of saying: hey, I respect you, but not enough to figure out what you're actually into."

"Of course you would," He was so sweet it was sickening. "Kiss ass."

"Shut that pretty little trap of yours, Dougal, or I'll do it for you." He proffered his extremely tempting offer as he unlocked the door to warmth and splendor. Her parents were more than happy to allow her to spend the next few days at Stuart's house. Surprisingly, their moms both got along extremely well once they got past the whole 'convict' thing. Then again, it was no more bizarre than "your daughter is dating and technically living with my son despite meeting him two days".

Once their cumbersome and extremely pesky clothes were disposed of, Jubilee located a note from Stuart's mother plastered on the exterior of the refrigerator.

 _dinner for u two in fridge. just heat up. both asleep. merry christmas._

The offer for food and winking smiley face at the bottom made her chuckle. Stuart had taken her to a rather lovely pizza place just a few hours before. With an embarrassed expression, he regretfully informed her that anything even resembling a semi-decent restaurant was off-limits due to reservations and the only tolerable place to eat in town was pizza. Though she didn't care in the slightest about how plebeian or patrician their meal was as long as it was spent with him, and informed him as such, his gentlemanly manner opened up a pathway for a platoon of butterflies to pour into her stomach.

"My fridge is indeed fascinating. I'll leave you to it." Stuart said as he made his way up the stairs.

She instantly sprung forth to intercept his departure before he could enter his room. "Where do you think you're going?"

He looked at her genuinely confused. "Going to sleep," His tone of voice framed it more so as a question than a definitive answer. "What else could I do at a time like this?"

Jubilee crossed her arms in indignation. "Well, I'll be joining you."

As if on cue, a wave of red materialized on his face. "Gah-I-uh...that's okay. You don't have to," He was so adorable sometimes that it was almost painful. "I don't want to force you into anythin-"

Before Stuart could bring forth yet another ridiculous objection, Jubilee lost any semblance of willpower to resist her baser urges and pounced on her target, slamming their lips together in the process. She felt Stuart grip the back of her head to pull her closer as she in turn attempted with a pitiful degree of success to secure a better position on his broad shoulders.

"Stuart and Jubilee sittin' in a tree," Their mutual moment of ecstasy was interrupted by Rachel sing-songing a lovely tune. "Kay-eye-ess-ess-eye-"

Stuart, smiling from ear-to-ear, interrupted her before she could conclude the final part. "You go to sleep right now, or I'm telling mom you were still up first thing tomorrow morning."

Completely undeterred, Stuart's younger sister made no effort to hide her exuberance at her discovery. "I knnnnew iit. Yooouuu like Joo-bah-leeeeee." The comment forced Jubilee to hide her flushed cheeks from Stuart, who was mercifully focused on Rachel.

"Now!" It almost came out as a laugh.

Having tormented the two enough, Rachel retired to her domicile, leaving the two hopelessly awkward buffons to nervously dance around each other.

Stuart rubbed the back of his neck. "Sooo…."

"Don't give me that. It's cuddle time." She gripped the stunned Stuart by the arm and hurled him on the bed. Once he had submitted to her will, she once again leaped on her prey and nuzzled her head into his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around her body. He was warm. And he smelled like something wonderful. She wasn't sure what brand of cologne it was, but she didn't really give a damn; it was the smell of Stuart, and it made her stomach somersault pleasantly.

"Check out the BTUs comin' off of you." He sleepily mumbled into her ear.

"Night, Stuart. And...thanks again, I mean it." She concluded the thought with a light peck on his cheek before the two drifted off to sleep, ensconced in each others arms and the wonder of the holidays.


	2. Tobin and Angie

"Oh yeah!" Angie hurled a triumphant fist in the air. Once again, she was first place in the new Mario Kart game Tobin had received for Christmas, utterly trouncing his pathetic effort. She jovially skipped over to the television and pointed directly to the monument of her victory before turning around to face her opponent. "And who is that up allllll the way in first place?"

It wasn't as if Tobin wasn't prepared for this. Ages ago, when the two of them delved into video gaming, his initial assertion that he should ease up on her had swiftly proven to be a massive underestimation of her skill. If he was to complete detach himself from contemporary social mores, he didn't despise getting demolished in Mario Kart or Super Smash Brothers as much as he let on; in all honesty, he was merely happy to be spending such time with her.

"Waluigi." One thing that routinely eluded him was her continued insistence on playing as Waluigi. She had such bizarre taste.

The subtle twinge of her wicked smile and almond-like eyes told Tobin exactly where this was going. In the game of witty banter, Angie reigned supreme.

"And who's alllll the way down here in sixth place?"

Tobin pursed his lips and cut off eye contact, fearing that his new found affliction of constantly blushing while in Angie's presence would soon once again manifest itself. She just look so damn adorable. Well, to add an addendum to that fact, she always looked adorable, but her level of adorableness was significantly magnified by her flannel Christmas themed pajamas she received as a present the previous year. It was rare, far too rare, in his opinion, to see Angie reach this level of jubilation. It made him want to squeeze her tight and never relent. Even he couldn't deny a certain level of joy at seeing Addie and Stuart redeem themselves. They were hardly the closest of compatriots, but it probably qualified as a Christmas miracle.

"Luigi in sixth place, ooof," Having concluded her appraisal of the results, she plopped herself immediately next to the faux-fleeing Tobin on his bed, brilliant smile only growing in magnitude. "Another ass-kicking delivered straight to Tobin's door courtesy of me."

Tobin crossed his arms, indignant, still refusing even the slightest bit of eye contact, though relishing Angie's brightness which rose above all else and lit up the smallest crevices of the Earth. "Alright, you know what? I'm going to bed. I can't deal with your braggadocio." He shut his eyes and slumped down into the bed.

"You leave me no choice."

Before Tobin could fire off the obligatory "No, wait", Angie was already on top of him, knees suction cupped to his waist, and pressed her fingers into his sides.

"Stop!" He wailed in between forced giggles. "Please!

That was another thing she loved. Tobin was so ticklish, and so very, very warm. After a few more seconds of her torture, she relented the tickling and merely remained on top of her prisoner. "Are you still asleep?"

"Yes."

She ran her hands down his chest. He always had a nice body. "Then the spell of eternal slumber can only be broken by true love's kiss."

Almost instantly, he perked up, looking for all the world like a puppy dog begging its owner for a treat just out of reach. She would be sure to take her sweet time lowering herself to her target. She had waited long enough to kiss Tobin, years after years, so a few more torturous seconds wouldn't destroy either of them.

"Mmmyoutasteamazing." He muffled into her mouth. Though the both of them were both more than eager to be in this relationship and lock lips, they both had an unspoken acknowledgement that they each carried a great deal of timid anxiety regarding not messing things up in even the most minor of fashions. Even in spite of that, it was pure bliss. Though they had yet to truly exfoliate the true magnitude and depth of their feelings for one another, they had both privately pined after the other for several years, and the interminable wait had proven to be more than worth it. And, really, Tobin's lips were so, so perfect.

Having concluded their impromptu kissing session, Angie and Tobin simply gazed into each other's eyes.

"Thanks for letting me stay over." Angie said, genuinely grateful.

"Are you thanking me? Please. My parents want to freakin' jump for joy." Years and years of familial comments and quips regarding his blatant crush on Angie instantly flashed through his mind. He thought his parents were going to get up and go caroling once it became a universal truth that he was officially dating the Duke.

"I'm assuming the free food and bed was the thanks I deserved for being so charming and sweet."

That made Tobin snicker. "Your ego is almost as big as your heart."

Angie gasped. "Alright, just for that, I'm gonna kick your ass in Smash Brothers. Prepare to get Falcon Punched into humility-land."

Tobin rolled his eyes. He truly loved her.


End file.
